Peeling Back the Layers of Time.

The National Trust is full of knowledgable people whom one never knows exist until suddenly, out of the blue they appear, as if by magic! They have immense knowledge about their chosen subject which always inspires me to want to spend time with them and glean a little more.

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting at New Inn about 18/19th century lighting and decoration. Part of the meeting consisted of a fabulous talk about lighting implements throughout the ages and what may have been in place at New Inn. By the way, did you know that you can get eight pints of oil from a penguin? Useful info if you are on an expedition in Antarctica and run out of torch batteries!

Over 40 wallpapers have been found at New Inn, some only tiny fragments but at least we begin to piece together the decorative layers that reflect the fashion of bygone eras. Our advisor could identify the fabric and age of most pieces but samples will be taken and analysed. Some are hand painted and others are machine printed reflecting the age of New Inn.

Unfortunately, the ravages of time have taken their toll and between penetrating damp, paper-loving silverfish and layer being placed upon layer, the original quality and colour of the papers have long gone. Still exciting to see though and hopefully samples will be on display in 2011 when we have our new visitor centre.

Machine printed paper

 

Manuscript has the words New Inn

 

 

 

 

And this Little Piggy stayed at home!

This rather old pig’s trotter was found in one of the ground floor rooms. Hmmm!

Archaeology in Action

Last week I dropped into New Inn as several people were clearing the external debris, one of them being Gary our regional archaeologist, who doesn’t get to do as much digging as he would like.

During the past few years New Inn and the surrounding land has been poked and prodded but it’s now time for the real plunder to find hidden treasures in the form of old bits of wallpaper, glass, metal farming implements and all other things old and mouldy which give us an idea of how things were and how things have developed.

The entrance into the yard at New Inn is under an arch where many a weary traveller would have passed. The ground is paved with cobbles which over the years have sunk, been removed or covered with centuries of soil. Gary and two volunteers were busy uncovering the cobbles which will eventually be removed and re-laid in specific areas around the yard where they will not be tripped over, slipped on or their bumpy surface uncomfortably endured by some poor toddler sitting in a pushchair.

Gary had a great time uncovering the cobbles and discovered a silver sixpence and a 19th century clay pipe bowl. I know Saxon jewellery would have been much more exciting but hey, it’s an 18th century inn, so what do we expect?

 

Just a Little Bit of History.

1717 – Building of New Inn commenced by Lord Cobham to accommodate visitors to Stowe. It heralded the gateway to his spectacular landscaped gardens. 18th century tourists could walk or ride down Bell Gate Drive and could enter the gardens between the two Lake Pavilions and admire the most spectacular view of Lord Cobham’s Palladian mansion.  Bell Gate became the official entrance at a later date.

New Inn was built neither as a traditional coaching inn nor an alehouse as its main purpose was a public hostelry. However, it did have a mini brewery where barley was brewed into beer. The inn incorporated a farm and the dairy still exists, although in a ruinous state. The accommodation was not very prestigious and several criticisms were recorded.

1724 – Not long after its completion, Lord Perceval wrote, “our inn was a scurvy one and had not beds for all”.

1732 – Dr Thomas Wilson commented that New Inn, “had very bad beds and worse eating”. 

1744 – The first guide-book for Stowe was sold at New Inn.

1795 – The Bennet family acquired the lease.

1797 – Repairs including mending the closet, plastering the dining room, stuccoing the parlour , raising the wall around the privy, lath and plastering the privy, laying a drain for the kitchen, pitching about cutting holes for the beam and improvement to the granary and walling.

1850s – New Inn closed as a hostelry. Bell Gate continued to be used until the late 19th century. The farmstead and smithy continued and the estate kennels were housed at New Inn for the deer hounds.

1920 – Smithy and kennels sold to the Connors family.

1947 – New Inn sold to the Tompkins family. 

2005 – New Inn purchased by The National Trust in a dilapidated state.

2010 – Works due to start.

2011 – New Inn will once more welcome 21st century visitors to Stowe who will retrace the steps of 18th century tourists along Bell Gate Drive and through Bell Gate, the original entrance to this stunning landscape garden.

New Inn in the 18th century

Well, I did say just a little bit of history!

October Open Days

To celebrate the start of the restoration, Stowe held open days last week so that members of the public could take a look at New Inn in its raw state. Those who attended would definitely have left with strong images of wear, tear and mostly decay. Conservation in action is always facinating and to see the ’before and after’ stage is very exciting. Of course we are taking lots of photos and videos but it’s not quite the same as seeing the real thing!

During the next few months Stowe will be offering visitors the chance to attend Hard Hat Tours, to experience work in progress at New Inn.

Hard Hat Tour

Our First Blog – The Restoration Begins

At last after many months of nail biting and finger crossing, the restoration of New Inn at Stowe Landscape Gardens is under way. Planning permission has been granted and The National Trust has been successful in its bid for Heritage Lottery Funding. All is going well.

New Inn was completed in 1721 and the exterior has not altered a great deal over the past centuries. Fortunately, there are no ugly 1970s flat-roofed additions so with a certain amount of imagination one can easily visualise how this historical building will come to life.

New Inn is to be restored to include a new visitor centre with modern visitor facilities; a community room, conference area, shop and plant sales area, offices and a large restaurant plus a farmhouse garden to supply the restaurant with home grown vegetables. Our current visitors to Stowe do not have these luxuries but in June 2011, all will change.

The contractors are due to start in January but in the meantime site clearance has begun. The house and site has been uninhabited since early 2000 and it is amazing how properties deteriorate when they are not lived in. It really is in quite a sad state but the cavalry in the form of volunteers, staff and companies (taking time out for team building) are starting to transform this derelict site. Hedges are being planted, timbers assessed and stored for future use and tonnes of old rotting metal is being piled up to allow safer access. Busy times!

New Inn 2009